


And They Were Cellmates!

by Royalsciencenerd



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Quirin goes to prison, and apparently took Varian's brain cell with him, no one pays Eugene enough for this, platonic familial father-son relationship building through mutual imprisonment, this literally came to me in a dream
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:07:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28458042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Royalsciencenerd/pseuds/Royalsciencenerd
Summary: Varian went through a lot in order to get his father back, so he's not going to let a little thing like prison keep them apart.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Quirin, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Varian, Quirin & Varian (Disney)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 55





	And They Were Cellmates!

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year everyone (or New Year's Eve to people like me)! This idea literally came to me in a dream - no joke. I was writing "Dad vs. Dad - the Showdown" and fell asleep in the middle of writing it, and had this dream (*starts singing* "I had a dream, I had a dream. Quirin went to jail so Varian did something extreme!"). So I decided to write it because why not.... Also, I know the whole "they were roommates" has become a romantic trope in fanfiction, but this isn't one of those fics - this is pure father son bonding. I just thought the title was funny. ;)
> 
> This takes places sometime after Eugene becomes captain of the guard, but whether that's before the season finale or after is open to the reader's interpretation.
> 
> Enjoy! :D

Quirin sighed, placing his head in his hands. He’d really done it this time…. It was one thing to complain about the king’s methods concerning the black rocks behind closed doors, but to the king’s face in front of a visiting foreign dignitary – that was treason. And so, he’d found himself in a cell in the castle dungeons awaiting his trial.

It’d only been 6 hours, but Quirin was already beginning to panic. What if the king didn’t forgive him?!? What if he was stuck down here forever?!? Would anyone tell Varian?!? What would his son think of him?!? Who would take care of his son?!?

Quirin is broken from his thoughts by the sound of jingling chains and approaching footsteps. He glances up as two guards, Stan and Pete if he remembers correctly, come into view. He freezes in shock as he sees the prisoner standing in chains between them.

“VARIAN?!?” Quirin gasps as he stares aghast at his son.

“Hi dad!” Varian greets, smiling as the two guards unlock the door, opening it, and guiding their captive inside. After entering, Varian turns, holding out his chained wrists which the guards unlock, removing the cuffs. The two guards then exit the cell, locking the door behind them, and walking off down the hall, leaving the father-son duo in silence.

Varian makes his way over to the other bunk in the cell, and smiles at his dad sitting on the other one. Quirin just continues to stare at his son. After a few moments, Varian frowns and looks around the cell before facing his dad once again.

“Hey dad! Would you mind switching bunks with me? I know it’s dumb, but when I was in here with Andrew that was my bunk, and you know – nostalgia and whatnot.”

Quirin stares agape at his son, but hesitantly nods. Slowly standing up, he switches bunks with Varian.

Varian smiles as he sits on the bunk, patting it as he leans back against the wall. “Thanks dad! Much better.”

Quirin tries to finds the words to articulate the ten thousand thoughts racing through his mind, but the best he can do is, “Why?”

Varian looks at his dad in confusion, before answering. “I don’t know. Andrew always insisted he have the left bunk, and I just kind of got used to always sleeping on the right one. If it’s going to be an issue, we can switch back….”

Quirin shakes his head. “No, Varian. Why are you here?”

Realization dawns on Varian’s face. “Ohhhhh, right….” Rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, Varian chuckles humorlessly. “Yeah, you’re probably wondering what I did to get sent back to prison.”

Quirin nods eagerly. If he knew what happened, he might be able to get Varian out of prison. He could fix this. Probably….

“Well, dad…. I um… kind of blew up a wing of the castle,” Varian stated sheepishly, refusing to make eye contact.

Okay so no fixing this. “YOU DID WHAT?!?” Quirin screamed. Sighing, Quirin pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “Varian, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times to be careful when performing your experiments. That way you don’t accidentally blow something up.”

Varian’s facial expression turned indignant. “I KNOW WHAT I’M DOING!!!! That explosion was fully controlled!”

Quirin stared at his son, now fully confused. “WHAT?!? Since when do you blow things up on purpose?!?”

Sighing, Varian clasped his hands, staring down at them. “Since I heard the guards talking about how they arrested the leader of Old Corona for treason.”

Quirin opened his mouth to reply, but found he had no words. Varian continued on, “I made sure no one was inside, that way no one was hurt. I just destroyed the building.”

Quirin frowned but said nothing. Well, at least that was better than his initial fears had led him to believe.

“I had to make sure you were okay,” Varian finished, looking up at his dad in concern.

Quirin sighed. “Varian, I’m fine. You on the other hand – what were you thinking?!? It’d be one thing if this was a first-time offense, but you have a criminal record!” His son would be lucky if he ever saw the light of day again.

“I know, but-” Varian began before breaking off.

“But what?!?” Quirin asked.

“I couldn’t lose you. Not again,” Varian whispered, pulling his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them.

Quirin sighed, standing up and moving to sit next to his son on his bunk. He gently wrapped his arms around his son, embracing him. “Varian, I’m okay. You shouldn’t have worried.”

Varian shook his head. “I know firsthand the consequences for treason, dad. You would have been stuck done here forever, and I would have been left all alone again.”

Quirin pulled his son closer. “So what? You thought you’d commit a crime in order to get thrown in here with me?!?”

Varian chuckled humorlessly. “Pretty much…. It wasn’t my worst plan.”

Quirin frowned. No, he supposed it wasn’t. However, they would still need to have another father-son talk on thinking things through.

Quirin was about to speak again, when he was interrupted by a chattering coming from the ceiling. Next thing he knew, his son’s raccoon was dropping down, coming to sit next to his son opposite of himself. “Ruddiger?!?” Quirin asked in surprise. Were there any members of this family NOT going to prison?!?

Varian, however, seemed elated at the raccoon’s presence. “Ruddiger!” he shouted as he pulled back from his dad’s hug to embrace the raccoon.

Quirin stared up at the ceiling, trying to make out the raccoon’s way of entrance in the gloom. “How did he even get in here?!?”

Stroking Ruddiger’s fur, Varian looked up at his dad. “Oh, there’s a small hole in the ceiling, just small enough for Ruddiger to squeeze through. He used to come and go all the time, at least until Andrew scared him off.”

Quirin stood up, trying to get a closer look at a potential escape route.

Varian frowned, staring at his dad. “We won’t fit. I couldn’t even before my growth spurt, so now I definitely won’t. And don’t even think about asking Ruddiger to bring us supplies to help us escape – it just makes the guards mad.”

Quirin turned to his son in shock. “Who said anything about escaping?”

Varian smirked. “You had that ‘I’m thinking of a plan that will backfire spectacularly’ face while looking at what you thought was a potential escape route. Or at least I think that’s what that face was…. I’ve never seen it myself, but Andrew used to complain that I used to make that face all the time.”

Quirin frowned, moving to sit back on his own bunk. “I’m surprised you haven’t already thought of an escape route.”

Varian sighed, continuing to stroke Ruddiger’s fur. “I’ve already tried everything I could think of before. Besides, I _chose_ to be here.”

“You blew up part of the castle,” Quirin remarked.

“Yeah, but I _chose_ to do that, knowing full well the consequences of my actions,” Varian replied.

Quirin leaned back against the wall, glancing around the cell a final time. “I’m surprised you’re so okay with this, son,” Quirin commented. “Being back in prison, in your cell – you would tell me if you weren’t okay, right?”

Varian nodded. “Of course. But I’m fine – really. I’ll always be fine as long as my dad’s here to help me.”

Quirin sighed. “You know there’s such a thing as visitation. You would have still been able to come see me.”

Varian scoffed, “Oh yeah, a former criminal with a history of losing it and destroying anyone and anything in his way to save his dad. I’m sure I’d be at the top of the list of allowed visitors,” he replied sarcastically.

Quirin frowned. “I see your point….”

They fell into silence, Quirin trying to think of ways to get them both out of this situation, while Varian continued to stroke Ruddiger’s fur.

After about an hour with no progress made in planning an escape, Quirin’s thoughts were interrupted by Varian speaking again.

“687,” Varian commented, glancing around the cell.

“What?” Quirin glanced at his son, confused.

“687 – the number of rocks that make up this cell,” Varian repeated. Seeing the look on his dad’s face, Varian frowned. “Oh sorry, did you want to count them yourself?” he asked.

Quirin gaped at his son. “Why would I-”

Varian’s face flushed. “You were staring off into space, so I thought you were counting the rocks to help pass the time. I used to do it all the time…. That’s how I know there’s 687 of them.”

“I wasn’t counting the rocks,” Quirin commented. Seeing his son’s embarrassment, he backtracked. “But that’s nice to know.”

They drifted back into silence before Varian broke it again. “So…, what were you thinking about, dad?”

Quirin sighed. “I’m trying to figure a way to get us out of here. Why do you ask?”

“Just trying to pass the time,” Varian murmured.

Quirin paused, frowning as realization dawned on him. “Are you _bored_?!?” he questioned.

Varian grinned sheepishly. “Maybe a little….”

Quirin resisted the urge to facepalm. He’d been in this cell for a little over 7 hours now. His son had barely been in here for one. If they were both facing life-sentences then this would not bode well for either of them. A bored Varian was a reckless Varian.

Quirin gulped. He couldn’t believe he was even considering asking what he was about to ask, much less actually asking. “So…, son. What did you used to do to pass the time?”

Varian frowned. “Well usually I’d listen to Andrew rant about how much he hated the king, the monarchy in general, Corona, Cassandra, the princess, the guards, etc. etc. Then I would usually rant for a bit about how much I hated Rapunzel, her fake promises, the black rocks, the kingdom, the king, etc. before I’d get super depressed and start talking about how much I missed you, and how I just wanted to go home, and then Andrew would yell at me for losing focus, and-” Varian stopped as he took in the horrified look on his dad’s face. “Forget I said anything…. None of those topics are relevant now anyways.”

Quirin nodded slowly. Yup, he knew he would regret asking. He knew he shouldn’t have asked a question if he didn’t want to know the answer.

Before Quirin can say anything, the sound of approaching footsteps interrupts. Quirin turns to find one of the guards bringing two trays of food, sliding them through the grate in the cell.

“Dinner,” the guard states before turning and walking away.

Varian quickly gets up and grabs the two trays, passing one to his father. At his father’s disgusted look, Varian laughs. “It’s not as bad as it looks,” he remarks before digging into his own meal.

Quirin frowns down at the gruel in his bowl, the small roll, and cup of water. Picking up the spoon, he takes a small bite. It’s not the worst thing he’s ever tasted, (his travels as part of the Brotherhood have led to him eating some disgusting things), but it’s not pleasant either.

Quirin glances up to see his son eating with no complaints. Varian notices and comments, “If you breathe through your nose right before you take a bite, and then exhale after you swallow, you can barely taste it.”

Quirin doesn’t respond except to try his son’s little trick. He’s pleasantly surprised to find it works. They eat the rest of their meal in silence. After a while, another guard comes and collects their empty trays.

A few hours later, and another guard comes by, blowing out the torches and lighting candles in their place. “Lights out!” they call.

Varian folds his pillow in half and turns on his side, cradling Ruddiger to his chest. Quirin lays back on his bunk, twisting and turning, trying to find some way to get comfortable.

“You’re not going to be able to get comfortable,” Varian comments, glancing over at his dad. “It took me three months before I was able to sleep more than a few hours at a time. And not just because of the nightmares. These beds are hard as rock.”

Quirin grunts in response, folding his own pillow in half in an attempt to get at least some cushion for his head. Within minutes he hears his son’s soft snores. How Varian could possibly sleep on such a hard surface in such a gloomy cell is a mystery to Quirin, until he remembers that’s exactly what his son did for a year of his life.

Groaning softly in frustration, Quirin gives up on sleep, and instead lets his thoughts drift towards his son. His son who had no problems adjusting to being in a cell again, except for boredom. His son who knows all sorts of tips and tricks for making life in prison more bearable, because he has experience. His teenage son, who should not know all these things, and yet he does because he’s experienced them all before without him. His son, who was so scared he’d lose him again, he was willing to experience the hardships of prison life all over again, just to make sure they weren’t separated.

Quirin sighed. What was he going to do? Varian should have never blown up that wing of the castle – his son never should have been thrown in prison again. He was supposed to be protecting him. He never should have made that snide remark in front of that foreign dignitary. Then he wouldn’t have been thrown in prison, his son wouldn’t have felt the need to commit a crime in order to join him here, and they would both be back home in Old Corona enjoying some ham sandwiches and hot cocoa right about now while he listened to Varian babble on about his latest experiment.

Instead, he’s locked in a dark gloomy cell, staring up at the rocks in the ceiling, listening to the sound of his son’s snores, while contemplating where he went wrong, and how he can possibly fix this.

~~~~~~

He must have eventually drifted off to sleep, because he awakens to the sound of footsteps walking down the hallway once again. Tensing as he sits up, Quirin glances over to see his son is still sound asleep. Ruddiger, however, was also woken by the noise, and bristles protectively in front of his son.

Quirin braces himself, preparing to be dragged off to his trial, or to watch his son be dragged off to his own, when the Captain of the Guard comes into view.

Eugene sighs as he comes to a stop in front of the cell. Pulling a key from his belt, he unlocks it with a clang, causing Varian to stir groggily.

“Alright, listen up!” he states. “Quirin, Rapunzel was able to smooth things over with her father and the foreign dignitary so as long as you apologize you are free to go.”

At this, Varian bolts upright, smiling. Quirin frowns. What about Varian?

“And **_YOU_** ,” Eugene turns to face Varian, pointing an accusatory finger at him. “Goggles, you know you’re not supposed to blow things up, especially not without permission. But since one of the other guards saw you checking the hallways before you set off your ‘ _little_ ’ explosion, and no one was inside and therefore, no one was hurt, you are free to go as well. Plus, according to Rapunzel, you were discussing renovations with her for that wing last week anyways. HOWEVER, you **_WILL_** be helping to rebuild that **_ENTIRE_** wing, mister. Am I clear?!?”

Varian nodded, hopping off his bunk, smiling. “Crystal!” Scooping up Ruddiger, he exited the cell. Turning to face his shocked father, Varian shouted, “Come on, dad!” and turned to leave the dungeons. Quirin exited the cell, following along behind the captain and his son.

As they left, Quirin listened as his son babbled on and on about how since they were starting from scratch with that wing, he could add all sorts of extra features.

“And since we have to rebuild the walls anyways, I can run my hot water pipes within the walls. Oh! And maybe some wiring for some electric lights as well! And then I could start on the next wing by knocking down that one wall, and-”

“Whoa, slow down, Hairstripe!” Eugene calls, placing a hand on Varian’s shoulder. “That’s a condition of your parole – you leave the demolition part of the renovations to the professionals.”

Varian sighed. “Fine! But this new wing is going to be AWESOME!!!! I’m going to start drawing up the plans right now!” With that, Varian ran off, leaving his father and the captain behind.

Eugene chuckled as he watched Varian run off. Turning to Quirin, he smiled. “I see prison hasn’t changed Varian – at least this time. How are you doing?”

“I’m fine,” Quirin replied. “Mostly glad my son is okay, and that you were able to let us go. You’ll have to send my regards to the princess.”

“Will do,” Eugene smiled. As they exited the dungeon, Eugene turned to face Quirin once again. “Hey, Varian seems to be fine, but I’ll keep an eye on him just in case.”

Quirin nodded. “Thank you. I’d appreciate that.”

Eugene nodded. “It’s the least I could do for my friend. And I’ll try to make sure there aren’t any more explosions in the near future either.”

Quirin laughed as he turned to go apologize to the visiting foreign dignitary. “I’ve been trying for 17 years, captain, so I wish you the best of luck in that endeavor.”

Eugene smirked. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. There’s nothing Team Awesome can’t fix.”

Quirin nodded before turning the corner. Good luck with that plan, Eugene. You’re gonna need it.

**Author's Note:**

> I wish I could draw because in my dream the look on Quirin’s face when Varian shows up was priceless. Smh... you’ll just have to use your imagination.
> 
> There is a Director's Cut currently in editing for this one, and the next chapter of "Creeping Crystals" is almost done (my goal was to have it done by the new year, but life is stupid sometimes so it didn't happen). 
> 
> I hope everyone has a happy new year! Wishing everyone the best for 2021! :D


End file.
